Kiss A Pig Kicks Off With Extra Ham
Last updated Saturday, January 10, 2009 10:07 PM CST in Our Town
By Carin Schoppmeyer
The Morning News
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BENTONVILLE -- There was no shortage of ham at the luncheon on Thursday to kick off the upcoming seventh annual Kiss A Pig gala. It wasn’t on the menu, though.
Kiss A Pig candidates performed skits, sang songs and made the case for why each one of them deserved the honor of puckering up at the upcoming American Diabetes Association fundraiser. The identities of the candidates were revealed at the lunch event at the Shewmaker Center on the NorthWest Arkansas Community College campus.
The gala will be Feb. 28 at the John A. Hammons Center in Rogers. The event pays tribute to the pig because it was the source of the first insulin used to treat diabetes.
This year’s gala carries the theme of Hamelot and will feature an extensive silent auction, a customized performance by Knights of the Round Table, vignettes from the Broadway play “Camelot,” a juggling act and an “Arthurian” dance party.
Dr. John Agwunobi, senior vice president and president for Health and Wellness at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will serve as this year’s honorary chairman. Neile Jones will be mistress of ceremonies, and Paul Beahm, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for Health and Wellness, Wal-Mart will deliver the keynote address.
The eight candidates will spend the next seven weeks raising money for diabetes research, advocacy and educational programs in Northwest Arkansas.
The candidates are:
• Mike Duley, customer category manager, Kraft Foods;
• Julie Fisk, senior marketing manager, Abbott Nutrition;
• Meza Harris, senior vice president, Lindsey and Associates;
• Tatum Owenby, owner, Foxwood Sports;
• Dr. Josh Roller, owner/surgeon, Roller Weight Loss;
• George Shelton, director for reputation management, Wal-Mart;
• Paul Storey, vice president for physician services, Northwest Health; and
• Deryn Young, owner and general manager, Young Marketeers and The Engineering Institute.
Most of the candidates’ lives have been touched directly by diabetes through the diagnosis of the disease in their families, friends and even themselves.
Fisk said she chose to be a candidate because her grandmother had complications from the disease and she lost a “dear friend from high school much too early” because of diabetes.
Young, who was diagnosed with Type I diabetes nearly two years ago, encouraged everyone to do “whatever it takes to cure diabetes.”
According to the American Diabetes Association, approximately 23.6 million Americans have diabetes. That’s an increase of 61 percent from 1990 to 2000.
Go & Do
What: Seventh annual Kiss A Pig Gala
To benefit: American Diabetes Association
When: 6 p.m. Feb. 28
Where: John Q. Hammons Center, Rogers
Tickets: $150
Information: 464-4121 or www.diabetes.org/nwakissapig
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